


Worthy of You

by wellthatjusthappend



Series: Merfolk AU [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Injury, M/M, MerMay, Non-Human Genitalia, Non-Penetrative Sex, just mermaids and smut, mermaid au, no angst though I promissed, sex in the water, tumblr ask
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 16:47:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11063073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellthatjusthappend/pseuds/wellthatjusthappend
Summary: Bruce doesn't know what exactly he's supposed to do with the Merman he rescued from the flames of the circus, but he knows that he can't leave him there to burn either.





	Worthy of You

**Author's Note:**

> From this([x](https://wellthatjusthappend.tumblr.com/post/161302187421/brudick-for-the-mermaid-thing-especially-after)) Tumblr ask for the last day of MerMay (which I totally didn't realize was a thing till it was pretty much over or there would have been Mermaids galore around here). This answer to the ask got pretty long so I decided to post it here as well.
> 
> Note: this take's place several years before Pretty Vicious

The circus was burning.

“Can you understand me?” Bruce asked. The Mer’s eyes were wide and wild as he thrashed on the ground. There was blood on his face, which was likely from the shards of glass of his broken tank but Bruce worried he may have hit head as well when he’d fallen. At his voice, the Mer paused his thrashing and and focused on him, only to renew it twice as frantically as he took in the intimidating form that Batman posed.

“Stop, you’re hurting yourself!” Bruce ducked out of the way of a tail that could doubtless break his bones if it hit him hard enough. Gritting his teeth, Bruce made a split second call and pulled off his cowl, “Please, I’m trying to help you.”

The Mer stopped thrashing and stared at him. For a moment, Bruce found himself captured by the bluest eyes he’d ever seen but he shook himself out of it. Even though the Mer wasn’t actively fighting help anymore, they still had a serious problem. His tank had been broken and the Mer’s gills were fluttering frantically in the absence of water. Bruce wasn’t sure if the blueish hue to his lips and skin was part of his natural coloring or not but he was betting it was more likely because he couldn’t breathe. And at the rate the heat from the fire was spreading, the Mer would dry out very soon.

Bruce didn’t want to picture how awful it would be to be a creature of water and die by fire.

“We need to get you to there,” Bruce pointed to a horse trough that had been used to sell drinks. The Mer’s gaze followed his finger and focused on the trough, “I can not carry you there though, you’re going to have to help me.”

The Mer seemed to understand and nodded, lifting up his arms.

Bruce swallowed back paranoia and let the Mer whined his arms around his neck. He’d witnessed Mer rip out people’s throates with their teeth a number of times. It was one a common killing move within the species. Still, this was desperate, and the Mer he was holding didn’t seem to want to kill him. Instead, he focused on trying to lift and drag the Mer as well as he could. Even with all of his considerable strength, he would have never had been able to budge the creature more than a bit if the Mer hadn’t been helping as much as he could even as his movements got weaker and weaker.  

Finally, Bruce was able to roll the Mer over the lip of the trough into the shallow water. He didn’t fit by any stretch of the imagination- most of his tail was still outside- but at least his upper body was in the water. After that it was a matter of tying up the trough (and the Mer’s tail) as securely as possible so the Batplane could lift both out of the blaze.

Fortunately all the people had been evacuated from the circus and Bruce had set the animals free rather than let them burn to death in their cages. Once the plane was set on autopilot to fly them back to the cave, Bruce returned to his passenger. Bruce’s heart skipped a beat as he realized that the Mer still wasn’t breathing even though he was in the water and his eyes had rolled back slightly. He worried that even after all his efforts he still might not have been able to save him.

He wasn’t sure how to go about it, but he rolled the Mer on his back and started compressions on his chest in the water. He grabbed an oxygen mask and pressed it to the Mer’s face. Or was it supposed to be his gills? Bruce wasn’t sure. The mask was making a current of bubbly water though. He was about to try something different when the Mer jerked and his gils started spasming a little bit as he coughed up a fit.

Bruce leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief. The Mer made eye contact with him for a moment before seeming to pass out again. This time though, he was breathing, even if his gills did seem to be working a little too hard.

* * *

When he got back to the cave, Bruce carefully used a forklift to lower the Mer- trough and all- into one of the caves deep saltwater pools. He was concerned that part of the Mer’s difficulty with the water in the trough had been because it was freshwater. Still, in an emergency some water was better than none.

Hopefully the Mer would be able to make a full recovery and Bruce could set him free in the ocean. For now though, Bruce sealed off the exits to the pool so that Mer wouldn’t try to return to the wild while he was still so injured. That’d be almost murder considering the way he’d heard that Mer tended to pray on one another in weakened states.

Bruce careful eye on the poor all throughout the next day even though the Mer seemed to be sleeping off his exhaustion and his vitals remained stable according to the chip Bruce had placed under his skin for safety. Still, he panicked when he glanced up from the monitors to find the Mer beached on the cave rocks lying very still.

He hurried to his side, grasping his torso to roll him back into the water as quickly as he could when the Mer moved and lightening fast and grabbed him around the neck again. Bruce stayed very still as the Mer regarded him. Then the Mer gave him a dazzlingly bright smile, albeit one with sharper teeth than Bruce was used to.

“I thought you might come quickly if it looked like I was in trouble,” the Mer told him, “You’re a kind man.”

Then before Bruce could respond with more than shock at the fact that the Mer had spoke- people had theorized that it was possible, but he’d never heard of one doing so before- The Mer used his grip to bring Bruce’s head down so he could press a chaste kiss over his mouth.

“Thank you for saving me.” he said brightly.

It was just a strange custom, Bruce told himself. It was not. He already knew that the only thing Mer tended to do to each other with their mouths was bite. This had to be something that was picked up by human’s, which was a thought that made Bruce instantly warey.

“I’m Dick by the way.” he said when he’d let Bruce back away again, “What’s your name?”

“...My name is Bruce,” he said after a moment of regathering his composure, “Dick, we need to get you back into the water.”

“Ok, but will you come with me? I want to get to know you.” Dick said. He looked so earnest, his features were breathtakingly beautiful now that Bruce let himself actually look at him. As a proper siren should be. It could be a trap, something to get Bruce into the water where Dick was infinitely stronger than him. There was no reason to take the risk, no matter how soulfully Dick was staring at him. Except…

“You still have injuries that I need to tend to,” Bruce said at last, “If you will come into the shallows, I will come into the water with you and tend your wounds.”

Dick’s breath hitched a bit and Bruce watched his pupils expand just a bit.

“Don’t be afraid, I just need to check on your head and make sure there is no glass in any of the cuts you received when the tank broke.” Bruce tried to sooth awkwardly. Dick gave him a long look and then smiled ruefully.

“You’ve proven yourself, I know you’ll keep me safe.” Dick said, though his words a little laden with meaning. Bruce frowned and racked his brain. He knew that Mer often required various feats of strength and daring from each other before they allowed another Mer around them. Perhaps by rescuing Dick he had also somehow proven himself by the Mer’s standards. That could only be good, surely.

Bruce felt a little uneasy.

Dick went back into the water with a splash and a flash of bright blue. It wasn’t that his tale was bright. In fact, it was close to black, but when the light hit the scales just right they revealed a mesmerizing blue. Bruce shook his head and crossed around to the shallows, shedding his clothes save his shorts, though he placed several weapons within reach on the rocks along with medical supplies.

Dick was watching him intently, eyes just above the water tracking his every movement with an almost predatory gleam. It was things like that that helped Bruce remember he wasn’t dealing with a human no matter what Dick’s top half looked like.

“You have so many scars.” Dick said when Bruce was close enough. He swam right into Bruce’s personal space and began tracing Bruce’s scars reverently, eyes blazing and hot, “Are you a hunter?”

“I fight often to try to bring justice to those who would prey upon the helpless.” Bruce said simply. He was not sure if Mer’s understood ideas of justice, but- Dick was staring up at him like he was- everything.

“You’re a warrior.” he stated a bit breathlessly.

“I suppose,” Bruce said frowning at him before gesturing that he was about to touch him, “I’m going to touch your head first, I need to make sure you didn’t get a concussion. Let me know if it hurts to much”

Dick nodded quickly, fingers squeezing against Bruce’s sides a bit. Bruce wondered if Dick was that worried about the prospect of pain, and resolved to be as gentle with him as he could.

There was no concussion, just a cut under his thick hair that was small enough that he didn’t even need stitches. Several of the cuts on Dick’s torso and flank were likely going to scar but he seemed pleased by this. Bruce merely shook his head and attened to a deeper cut that still had tiny shards of glass in it. He tried to be careful, but every tug and prod at the wound made Dick’s breath catch and his body shiver a little bit. Bruce would have concluded that he was likely just very sensitive to any pain, except that as he pulled out the last shard-

“aAh…” Dick moaned sounding positively pornographic. Bruce froze, feeling very conscious of Dick’s blood on his fingers as the Mer looked up at him, eyes blown looking hazy and drunk on desire. Bruce caught sight of the head of his cock starting to emerge from between the slit in his scales and swallowed. He suddenly felt very stupid. He knew the way that acts of even more daring and danger were required of potential mates to prove that they were worthy. He knew the role of marking and pain that was in the mating process. The role of submission to that pain as a sign of accepting a potential suitor.

“Dick…” Bruce had to clear his throat because it was a bit horse. He saw Dick’s eyes flicker to his throat and lick his lips, “This isn’t- I’m not trying to mate you, Dick.”

“You should.” Dick said a little breathily, pressing close and Bruce couldn’t quite deny the way his body reacted to the of skin pressed against his own and the beautiful person looking so very _ready_ -

“You… I’m just trying to get you healed so that you can go home to the ocean at last. You’ll find one of your own kind there that can give you what you want from them.” Bruce tried to tell him.

“Bruce, I was born in the circus. I’ve never been to the ocean.” Dick laughed shaking his head, “I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Bruce closed his eyes. If that were true… Dick really _couldn’t_ just be freed. It wasn’t just a matter of readjustment, if he’d lived his whole life in captivity then there was good chance he’d never be able to function properly in the wild. He’d be prey for fishermen and even other Mer. Bruce had to protect him, but he wasn’t sure he was what was best for Dick either-

“Please, Bruce.” Dick moaned as he rubbed up against him, tail coiling around Bruce’s legs, “Please, there’s been no one else worthy. And the other Mer- sometimes they’d bring them through the circus and they’re always so _mean_. But I can tell; you’re kind. You’re just right for me, I know it. Please Bruce-”

Bruce kissed him deeply. Dick remained unsure about what to do about the tongue in his mouth for only a moment before simply surrendering happily to what was happening to him and trying to respond in kind where he could. It was a troubling reaction; far too instant and complete of a surrender. Bruce loved it, but another Mer… they would expect a fight, even a potential mate. This kind of tame and domesticated behavior could get Dick maimed or even killed.

Bruce growled and clenched Dick a little closer. Dick shivered and made a pretty sound for that, though Bruce could he was getting a little short on breath so he flipped them so Dick was in the water and tilted just his face above it so he could kiss him again and again even as he thrust his hips against the other’s.

“Inside- inside me. You should be-” Dick started gasping bucking desperately into each roll of his hips.

“No.” Bruce said firmly nipping Dick’s lower lip making him squirm with need for a proper bite, “No, I don’t know if it’s safe.”

“It’s fine-” Dick said getting ahold of Bruce’s cock and trying to direct it where he wanted it.

“We don’t know that, and it’s not worth risking you.” Bruce said firmly, batting away his hand so he could grasp their cocks together and stroke. It didn’t take too long after that for Dick to come over his fingers with a truly beautiful cry, and the spurting again and crying out even louder when Bruce locked his jaw on his neck as he came.

“I know, I know you’ll be a wonderful mate.” Dick hummed happily, lazily stroking along Bruce’s scars again, “next time should be inside one of us though.”

“Me I suppose then. We don’t know if you can get pregnant.” sighed Bruce drowsily. He couldn’t actually does off here or he would drown, but at least Dick would probably save him.

“I want that.” moaned Dick slightly clinging it him, soft dick twitching against him.

“No talking of children just yet,” Bruce said firmly pulling back to fix Dick with a look, “We hardly even know each other still.”

“But Bruce,” Dick beamed up at him, hair swirling around his face in a perfect picture, “I think we’ll know each other well very very soon.”

Bruce sighed and simply kissed the Mer’s temple, something that made Dick laugh and squirm. He was going to have his hands full.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! It's non-specific if this is the same universe as Pretty Vicious took place, but it's the same idea for the Merfolk. Feel free to enjoy the implications and possibilities of if it was though ;)


End file.
